Tucker Carlson: Controversial host who has interviewed Trump, Putin and now McGregor

James Cox

Tucker Carlson was in Dublin this week, where he was hosted by Conor McGregor at his Black Forge Inn pub in Crumlin.

McGregor, who is appealing a High Court civil jury’s finding that he raped a woman in a Dublin hotel, was interviewed by the controversial former Fox News host as the pair donned Maga hats.

“We had a great chat with Tucker Carlson highlighting the issues Ireland is facing, Ireland’s plight, Ireland’s fight and also Ireland’s delight,” McGregor told The Irish Times.

“It’s not all doom and gloom and we want to keep a positive outlook and move incrementally, step by step, to a better Ireland.”

McGregor described Carlson as a "good listener" and said he was looking forward to the interview being “absorbed by the Irish public.”

“I spoke from my heart, and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.

McGregor's unlikely bid for the Irish presidency undoubtedly featured in the interview.

The UFC fighter would need to secure the backing of 20 Oireachtas members or four local authorities to get on the ballot.

Responding to the interview on Wednesday, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said: "I think most political parties and independents completely reject his politics, his rhetoric, his divisive approach to public debate, and I'm sure that will be reflected in his interview with Tucker Carlson.

"That type of extreme politics isn't something most Irish people accept. I think it will be widely rejected if he attempted to run for the presidency."

So, who is Tucker Carlson?

Fox News fame

The 54-year-old became a household name in the United States with his prime-time Fox News show.

Tucker Carlson Tonight, which debuted in 2016, gave Carlson a platform to voice his opinions, and he became a hit in Republican and right-wing circles in the US.

He often pushed conspiracy theories, including denial of the Covid-19 vaccine, while he also spoke in favour of Russia around the time of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Carlson was a favourite of US President Donald Trump and played a role in his electoral success in 2016 and 2024.

Dominion court case

Carlson left Fox News in April 2023 after the high-profile Dominion court case.

Fox Corp agreed to pay $787 million (€691 million) to Dominion Voting Systems to avoid a defamation trial.

Dominion had sued Rupert Murdoch's media giant over Fox's false claims that voting machines were rigged in the 2020 US election, a claim often pushed by Mr Trump.

Carlson, who gave regular coverage to the claims on his show, was due to testify at the trial.

Text messages and emails from Carlson were revealed in the trial in which he admitted the claims were baseless. In other messages, he admitted he "passionately" hated Mr Trump.

While he remains a Trump ally, their relationship cooled for a period, and Mr Trump did more interviews with Carlson's former Fox colleague Sean Hannity.

Move to Twitter/X and streaming service

In 2023, Carlson moved his show to Twitter, now X.

He conducted interviews with Mr Trump and other prominent figures on the platform.

In December 2023, he launched the streaming service Tucker Carlson Network. 

Vladimir Putin interview

Carlson travelled to Russia in February 2024 to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It was Putin's first one-on-one interview with a Western journalist since he launched the invasion of Ukraine.

Carlson was widely criticised over a lack of journalistic integrity as he appeared to pander to Putin.

He did not question misinformation from the Russian president, and failed to question him about Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.